ESL Treasure Hunt & Webquest Page

[Treasure Hunts | WebQuests]

What is "ESL Online Treasure Hunt"?

"In a Treasure Hunt, there are a series of questions to answer or short activities to complete. A link is provided for each question or for a series of questions. In this way, the teacher can guide the students to sites that the teacher feels have value and that are appropriate for the interest and proficiency level of a particular group of students..".(from Phyllis Baxter 's Using Treasure Hunts to Guide Students Through the Web. Click the link for more details)

How does this activity help ESL Students?

"Students will be practicing decision making and problem solving skills. Many times when a student visits the first link to solve a quest, there is a choice to be made as to where to go next. Students will usually work in pairs or small groups while at the computer. They will be interacting socially and collaborating to reach decisions as to how to proceed to find the correct information. As they discuss the problems, the language development of the students will certainly be stimulated and enhanced. There is also a lot of opportunity to practice reading."

Where can you find examples of Treasure Hunt?

What is "Webquest"?

"A webquest is an assignment which asks students to use the World Wide Web to learn about a specific topic. " (From Webquest 101 )

"A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing. There are at least two levels of WebQuests that should be distinguished from one another." (From Bernie Dodge)

Why should you take the time to create a webquest?

The best reason is that, like any carefully planned lesson, a good webquest makes learning interesting for your students. Beyond that, however, several other factors make webquests a powerful learning tool. (From Webquest 101 )

  • First, a good webquest puts the power of the web behind your topic. You can show students - or let them discover for themselves, not just tell them. Web sites can take your students anywhere in the world.
  • Webquests are a way to let students work at their own pace, either individually or in teams.
  • A webquest lets students explore selected areas in more depth, but within limits that you have selected. This makes webquests ideal for classes which combine students with different ability levels.
  • Webquests offer a different, more dynamic approach to teaching the value of research.
  • Webquests can also increase the "comfort level" of students using the Internet for learning activities. While your students are probably already computer literate, a properly designed webquest can help students become creative researchers rather than simply "surfing" from one site to another.

Useful Resources for designing webquest activities
[Home][Introduction][Hunt][Activities][Tips][References]